(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel and a manufacturing method thereof.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A thin film transistor (TFT) array panel is widely unused in various display devices such as a notebook computer, a monitor, a television set, a mobile phone, etc. A thinner, lighter, cheaper, and strong flexible panel is required. The flexible panel may include a flexible substrate on which TFTs are formed.
A flexible substrate includes a plastic substrate having high heat-resistance, high transmittance, and low contractibility, an extremely thin glass substrate which is hardly broken and easily bent, or a hybrid thereof.
However, a flexible substrate is apt to be curved by stress when it experiences chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or sputtering of a silicon or metal thin film.
The stress exerted on a substrate, which is generated by deposition of a gate wire, a data wire, or an amorphous silicon layer, etc., may be released when they are patterned by photo-etching. However, the stress in a direction along the length of the gate wire or the data wire is not easily released. In addition, since only a small portion of an entire area of a gate insulating layer and a passivation layer experience etching, the stress maintains until the termination of a process to cause curve of the substrate.
The curvature of the substrate causes problems or impossibility in misalignment in following photolithography processes and in incomplete evacuation in following coating processes. In addition, there is a problem that the curved or crookedly display panel lowers the value of the products.